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Conspiracy Theory, Part 3
| Series = Major Crimes | Season = 6 | Episode = 8 | Airdate = December 19, 2017 | Viewers = 2.44 million | Writer = Mike Berchem | Director = Stacey K. Black | Guests = | Previous = | Next = | Episode list = Season 6 }} While working two seemingly connected murders, the division suddenly uncovers a series of sexual assaults against servers from Tackles. As a new theory about the killer gathers steam, however, an unexpected twist throws Major Crimes off course and Sharon Raydor off-balance. The Victim * Bonnie Pearl, lawyer representing women who are oppressed. She was shot in the head while driving her vehicle. When her body was found, she was wearing a fake pearl necklace, even though it was supposed to be her "signature". She was representing multiple waitresses who were wrongfully terminated from Tackles restaurants at the age of 30. Later revealed to have known about Vanessa Blaine's rape and was reportedly a mother figure for her. Bonnie had also tracked down three other women who were raped while employed by Tackles. * Vanessa Blaine, one of the waitresses who were terminated from Tackles. Feels that there isn't enough money in the world to compensate what happened to her and did not want to settle the case for money like the other waitresses. Found dead in her house with signs of a struggle. Was revealed to have been raped by someone she knew and trusted which caused her to try to commit suicide. * Multiple sexual assault victims, all over the county. All were employed by Tackles restaurants during the time of the assaults. Some of these victims being Vanessa Blaine (A.K.A. Burbank/Dallas), Shelly Coyne (A.K.A. San Diego/Miami), Makisha Selby (A.K.A. Las Vegas/Atlanta), Dianna Holt (A.K.A. Indianapolis/Tampa) and Mary Beth Roberts (A.K.A. Chicago/Denver). * Dr. Bill Landon, renowned motivation speaker and a friend of Craig Curtis as well as one of Craig Curtis' key investors. Craig provided him with waitresses from his restaurants in every city he toured in which had a Tackles restaurant, after which Bill drugged and raped them. Found dead in his vehicle, shot multiple times with the same M.O. as Bonnie Pearl. The Suspects * Craig Curtis, owner of a restaurant chain called Tackles which uses scantily clad young women as waitresses although their contracts specify that they are models so that Tackles can monitor their overall appearance, weight and age. All contracts for waitresses expire the day they turn thirty. Craig was accused of gang raping one of the cheerleaders at his college, making him the prime suspect of Vanessa Blaine's rape. He had a solid alibi for Vanessa's rape but knew about it and did not report it to the police. Provided Dr. Bill Landon with waitresses from his restaurants so he could rape them. * Stan Pearl, son of Bonnie. Associate at Bonnie's law firm and sole beneficiary to Bonnie's assets. Considers his mothers death as a news opportunity for himself. When he heard the news of multiple Tackles waitresses being raped, he only cared about how much money he would be able to make in a settlement. * Dr. Bill Landon, renowned motivation speaker and a friend of Craig Curtis as well as one of Craig Curtis' key investors. Craig provided him with waitresses from his restaurants in every city he toured in which had a Tackles restaurant, after which Bill drugged and raped them. Later found murdered in his car. * Vicky Landon, wife of Dr. Bill Landon. * Seth Landon, son of Dr. Bill Landon. Evidence Bonnie Pearl murder investigation * Two shots fired from a .38 Special revolver, one round was copper jacketed and one was solid lead, suggesting two weapons and two shooters. Only one of the bullets hit the victim, Bonnie Pearl, striking her above the nasal cavity, killing the victim instantly. ** Firearms analysis later discovered that both bullets were fired from the same weapon, scrapping the multiple shooters theory. * Purse was stolen but the victims signature pearls were left on her. The pearls were later discovered to be fake by Det. Paige. * The night of the murder, Bonnie was negotiating with Greg Curtis about a possible settlement for wrongfully terminated waitresses from his Tackles restaurants. Afterwards, she had dinner with her clients. * Acts of vandalism toward Bonnie Pearl by Eric Walsh, including spray painting Bonnie's front gate, going through her trash cans, keying her car, slashing her tires, and draining her pool. * MCD detectives consider Stan Pearl to be just dumb enough to lead a gun with different bullets and, even though it was midnight, Bonnie would have definitely stopped for him. Stan is also Bonnie's sole heir, inheriting his mom's whole estate, including her law practice. Stan also has an apartment just down the road from his mothers murder site. * Bonnie's call logs from her law firm which are written in code. Dozens of calls about Tackles with only the designation of "Burbank/Dallas". ** "Burbank/Dallas" was later identified as Vanessa Blaine, one of the waitresses Tackles terminated. Vanessa Blaine murder investigation * Found dead in her house with signs of struggle. She was tasered multiple times so she was unable to defend herself. * Her phone and laptop were stolen along with her purse, same as Bonnie Pearl. * She was raped by someone she knew and trusted about a month before she was terminated from Tackles. She had previously tried to commit suicide because of the rape. * Taser marks on her back match those of the security guards employed by Tackles, but a specific taser can not be accurately determined to be the weapon that was used. The tasers were reportedly provided by the Landon family as a way to protect the waitresses. Dr. Bill Landon murder investigation * Found dead in his car, matching the murder scene of Bonnie Pearl. Shot twice in the head and twice in the chest. Multiple sexual assault investigations * Makisha Selby (A.K.A. Las Vegas/Atlanta): Reported her rape to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police but was reportedly incoherent and drugs were found in her purse resulting in her arrest. Because of this, she doesn't trust cops. Craig Curtis set her up to be raped by giving her free tickets to Dr. Bill Landon's seminar in Las Vegas. Bill Landon invited her to his hotel room, drugged her, tied her to the bed, gagged her, and raped her. Reportedly, Landon also kept repeating "trust me" the whole time. Case Progress Guest Cast * Chris McKenna (Craig Curtis) * Fran Kranz (Stan Pearl) * Mark Deklin (Dr. Bill Landon) * Jayne Brook (Vicky Landon) * Nolan Gerard Funk (Seth Landon) * Daya Vaidya (LVMPD Det. Linda Chavez) * Skye P. Marshall (Makisha Selby) * Briana Lane (Shelly Coyne) Recurring * Rene Rosado (Gustavo Wallace) * Noah Weisberg (Defense Attorney Roland Jennings) Locations Episode Notes *When Detective Linda Chavez calls Leo Mason's phone because it was the number on the business card Julio gave her, Julio states that he borrowed his "old chief's card" to write his number on the back. This is likely a reference to Russell Taylor who shared the same office and thus the same phone number as Mason. Sharon Raydor *Tests determine that Sharon's illness is worse than expected. As a result, she is implanted with a defibrillator-pacemaker with wireless capabilities and given bigger priority on the heart transplant list. *After Andy informs Provenza of the truth, an emotional Provenza attempts to convince Sharon to take time off for her health, but she refuses. *At the end of the episode, Sharon gets a call from her doctor who, due to the monitoring portion of her device, orders to stop what she's doing immediately and call an ambulance. As Sharon gives orders to that effect to the detectives around her, she suddenly collapses. Phillip Stroh *Rusty shows Sharon evidence of a possible Phillip Stroh sighting in Palm Springs, but it is unconfirmed. Sharon suggests that to figure out why Stroh is returning to LA, they must first figure out why he came to LA in the first place. Gus and Rusty *Gus talks with Rusty in a crowded elevator, revealing that he has gotten a better job and thanks to the severance package Rusty arranged for him, he might be able to open his own restaurant. *Gus reveals that he has gotten asked out, but refused to go on the date as he still wants to reconcile with Rusty. Rusty admits to turning down dates himself, but is still bitter and under a lot of pressure with Stroh and Sharon's illness and continues to refuse to give Gus a chance. Leo Mason *After Sharon goes behind his back to create a press release regarding Bill Landon, Mason gets into a heated argument with Sharon who goes ahead with her plan when he has nothing better to suggest. *During the argument, Sharon is openly defiant towards Mason, surprising a visiting Las Vegas detective by Sharon's gall to speak to a high-ranking superior officer in such a manner. Trivia *Rusty tells Sharon that the Palm Springs police had issued a ticket to "an English kid who rented the car with a fake ID and someone else's credit card." While unconfirmed, this is likely a reference to Phillip Stroh's accomplice Dylan Baxter who is seen in to and matches that description. Episode Media Category:Major Crimes Category:MC Season 6 Category:Episodes